"Put your hands out."

Visena complied with Yrsa's demand while Gideon glowered beside her.

"Move back, Alpha." Svend accompanied his words with a hard shove against Gideon's shoulder. His eyes shone gold as he took a few steps back. 

She bit down on the urge to growl as Yrsa fastened two thick metal cuffs to her wrists. Initially, there was a strange burn, but it wore off as she shook her hands. 

The next item went around her neck and stung intensely. "What is this?" Visena rasped, tugging on the collar to ease the burning. 

"Wolfsbane and silver to stop you shifting and cold iron manacles to suppress your magic." 

Visena ached to wipe away Yrsa's smug expression when a tearing sound from behind drew her attention to her mate. Gideon shredded fabric from his shirt and tucked it between the collar and Visena's skin. The relief was instantaneous as her skin healed the deep burns. Yrsa clicked her tongue disapprovingly, but her companion shook his head.

They kept walking until they passed Calypso's cabin, who stood leaning in the doorway with a sneer. "I wonder what the Witch Council will say about this." Her voice held an edge sharp enough to slice water. 

Yrsa returned the look of distaste before adorning her face with a sickening smile. "This matter does not involve your kind. Besides, why do you concern yourself with the Witch Council? They hate defectors like you."

Calypso stalked forward, and her eyes seemed to darken. "They fear me. Rightfully so." With the slightest flick of her wrist, she had cast a spell. Yrsa doubled over, clutching her cheek with a wail. Blood poured down her clothing and spattered the dirt.

 "I'll kill you," she screeched. Svend grabbed her shoulder and shook his head furiously. Visena noted the fear in the Alderman's eyes as he supported Yrsa's weight. 

Yrsa straightened up and marched onward without another look at the Witch towards a midnight black Mercedes parked beyond the border. Her hands stayed balled by her sides as her gaping facial wound flowed freely. Calypso gave Visena a long calculating look before turning away and slamming the door shut behind her.

"I'll miss you too," Visena called after her half-heartedly. A shimmer spanning the path appeared like an optical illusion as she followed the Aldermen to the sedan. Forest edge to forest edge. Is the border an actual physical boundary? The opalescent sheen was mesmerising. 

"Don't look too closely," Gideon muttered. She tore her gaze from the pretty, shiny, beautiful, gorgeous, woah...

"Visena!" Her face was squashed between warm palms, and green eyes captured hers. "I said don't stare." She shook her head, detaching herself from her mate's hands, and walked through the barrier with her head down. "It's to keep the humans and Fae out," Gideon grumbled beside her.

"Get in." Svend stared Visena down as he opened the heavy Mercedes door. The scent of blood and leather wafted up to her nostrils.

With one last look of longing at her mate, she wandered to the open door and slid in. Visena was surprised to see another wolf sitting in the opposite seat. Svend slammed the door, nearly bursting Visena's eardrums before the Council leaders filled the front seats. Then, the car pulled away from Invictus for good. Away from Gideon and Visena's home. 

She didn't dare peer out the window at her mate, fearing her heart would tear in two. Instead, his haunting howl touched her soul as he shifted and watched them go. The mate pull grew painful as the miles ticked away.

"Where are we going?" Visena finally asked.

In response, Yrsa rolled up a panel of glass separating the front and back of the sedan.

 "Well, that's rude..."

"They can't hear you," the wolf to her left said. 

Visena kept her gaze downward to hide her mouth. "You're a Praelia wolf. I recognise your scent."

Silence stretched on between them before Visena tried again. "Why are you here?"

"Praelia wolves are the hired muscle. Warriors. Hence the name."

Visena pondered the situation a moment longer. "Does Thyra know what's happening?"

"Yes," the wolf responded. They offered no other remarks, but Visena sat quietly, confident that plans were already being worked out. She hoped she wouldn't be stuck with the entitled, pretentious, stupid Council members for long.

Her thoughts started to spiral when she asked, "What is your name?"

The Praelia wolf seemed surprised. "T." When T saw Visena's raised brow and soft smile, they sighed. "I have another name, but I don't like it. It doesn't fit who I am."

"Who you are?"

"Neither male nor female." T looked away nervously when Visena tapped on their knee and offered an outstretched hand.

"Well, it's really nice to meet you, T." They sat in comfortable silence when the scenery started changing. Forests became sparse, and field's rolled on endlessly. Many hours passed, and Visena had dozed off a few times when the view shifted once more, and modern structures started cropping up along the journey. 

The most jarring thing Visena saw was the people. They all looked so ordinary. Oblivious humans. A twinge of jealousy niggled in her stomach. It would be so much easier to be like them. Visena could quickly reconnect to the girl she used to be. Or at least empathise with her. The one her mother scoffed at for glamouring herself and living in the human world. But humans didn't care about anyone but themselves, and Visena imagined it to be refreshing. She was tired of being looked at with curious eyes. Or worse, wary ones.

The structures merged and twisted until suburbia became a city. Visena resisted the urge to press her nose against the tinted windows and crane her neck at the skyscrapers. "Where are we going, T?"

"Council building. They refer to it as the Pentaculum for the five species."

"Cool..." Visena's breath fogged the glass. Then, after a few minutes, the car dipped down a sharp ramp and into well lit underground parking. They parked near an entryway and clambered out, all except Visena, who was left trapped at the mercy of a child lock for a few irritating seconds.

"Get out." Yrsa said with a scowl, her face still looking like it had seen the sharp side of a carving knife.

Visena followed the wolves, briefly smiling at T before glueing her gaze to the floor. The cotton shirt Gideon had placed was slipping, and her skin stung from the silver and wolfsbane.

The building was silent. No footsteps rang out except for the new arrivals, and Visena was painfully underwhelmed. "This is it?" she asked T. She expected something else. Something scarier?

Visena realised she spoke too soon when Yrsa shoved her into a concrete room, and the door slammed shut behind her.

~~~

A/N 

Thank you for reading,

I'm going to change my uploading schedule - probably every 4-5 days from now on - as life gets busy and because my most recent chapters haven't had much action ;)

But Nevermind <3

Have a great weekend, everyone xxx

Until next time...